mongoose

noun

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mon·goose | \ ˈmän-ˌgüs

, ˈmäŋ-

plural mongooses also mongeese\ ˈmän-ˌgēs

, ˈmäŋ- \

Definition of mongoose

: any of numerous long slender carnivorous mammals (family Herpestidae) chiefly of Africa and southern Europe and Asia that are usually ferret-sized agile mammals typically with nonretractile sharp claws, short legs, long tail, and usually brownish or grayish fur sometimes with bands or stripes

Note: Mongooses feed chiefly on small animals (such as insects, earthworms, birds, snakes, and rodents) and are sometimes grouped with the viverrids in two subfamilies (Herpestinae and Galidiinae).

Examples of mongoose in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There is also a minor epidemic of troll players wielding two rattan Kali sticks that seem to grant them the speed of a mongoose that’s been mainlining methamphetamines. — Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 Most unusual picks: fossa (a mongoose relative) and axolotl (a type of salamander). — Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2021 Challender says pangolins play a vital role in their environment, by controlling insect populations and with their burrows providing shelter for creatures including bats, snakes and mongoose. — Nadia Leigh-hewitson, CNN, 15 June 2021 When mongoose mothers are expecting, many will give birth on the same night. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 26 June 2021 Thus it could be said that the mongoose belongs to Rudyard Kipling, the mockingbird to Harper Lee, the lobster to David Foster Wallace, the cockroach to Kafka, the spider to E. B. White, and the snake to whoever wrote Genesis. — Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 5 July 2021 This mongoose birth party is a good thing, new research suggests. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 26 June 2021 There’s also a pack of bad guys, including a mongoose and assorted seagulls. — Chris Kornelis, WSJ, 23 June 2021 The researchers said that the mongoose moms suckle all the pups in their underground dens for a month, without any discrimination, and pups feed from many different moms. — Katie Hunt, CNN, 23 June 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mongoose.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.